


Back to School

by Andimpink



Category: Kindergarten Cop (1990), Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Alternate Universe - Police, Cop AU, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Kindergarten Teacher Gabriel Reyes, Mystery, Rating May Change, Reader isn't introduced until a few chapters in, Reader-Insert, Romance, Some Humor, Undercover, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:27:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27181777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andimpink/pseuds/Andimpink
Summary: Detective Gabriel Reyes has been fighting for years to put ex-Deadlock Gang member, Warren Strong, behind bars. He would go to any lengths necessary to do so, but he could not have predicted having to go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to do so. To top it all off, he meets you, the attractive neighboring 1st grade teacher, and your charming five year old son that is in his class. Will he be able to find Strong's ex-wife in order to put him behind bars or will Strong escape conviction and hunt down his ex and the three million credits she stole from him five years ago? Will he win your heart or is your secretive life going to shut him out? Read and find out.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Reader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	1. Tough Cookie

**Author's Note:**

> This is story is heavily inspired by one of my favorite movies, Kindergarten Cop. The idea of Gabriel being a hardcore police detective and having to deal with a lot of the other characters from Overwatch as five year old children is utterly chaotic and wholesome at the same time. Throw in a bit of action and mystery with a dash of reader-insert romance and we have a killer story in the works. Hope you all enjoy!

“Reyes, you handcuffed the poor thing to her dead boyfriend. It’s no wonder she doesn’t want to tell us what she knows.” Chief Morrison said, crossing his arms over his chest. In the investigation room, his only witness paced back and forth, eluding questioning. Reyes needed this witness, a young woman by the name of Vicki Campbell, in order to pin down a wanted arms dealer he’d been hunting for years now. The chance to bring him to justice was just a lineup and testimony away, but only if Miss Vicki Campbell cooperated. “She’s a tough one. I’m surprised she’s lasted this long.”

Reyes shook his head, knowing that Warren Strong, ex member of the Deadlock Gang and known arms dealer, would be walking free if Vicki didn’t testify to him murdering her boyfriend. This had occurred earlier in the day when Reyes had been tailing Strong through a mall. He believed that he was there for an illegal arms deal, but upon discovering Vicki and her dead boyfriend he knew something was amiss. Not wanting to let his one witness get away, he’d handcuffed her to her dead boyfriend and tried to find where Strong had gone off to, but to no avail.

So far, the interrogator had managed to weasel out some useful information from the girl-- that her boyfriend had information on Strong’s ex-wife. This ex-wife had up and left with three million credits she’d stolen from a transaction of one of Strong’s arms deals as well as their infant son. She'd left Los Angeles and had yet to be found after 5 years. Strong had been looking for them both and it seemed Miss Campbell’s boyfriend had been offered money in exchange for his information, but was paid with lead instead.

They hardly had anything as it is. Vicki Campbell had been unable to tell them what the ex-wife looked like or even what name she had been going by. Her boyfriend hadn’t said as much to her, likely knowing what a danger that would be if Strong found out someone else knew too. He’d gone and killed the man for knowing just that little bit of information. Strong didn’t like loose ends just as much as he didn’t like loose mouths. He trusted no one other than himself.

“I told you already-- I am not answering any more of your questions. Now let me go.” the witness demanded heatedly. The interrogator, someone Reyes had never seen before around the precinct, looked up to the window, drawing attention to the glass separating them. Miss Campbell looked up and her face soured even more. Rising from her chair violently, she walked over and threw up her middle finger. “Fuck you, you bastards! I know you’re in there! Now let me go! There isn’t going to be any lineup and I’m sure as hell not going to testify, so you might as well just let me be on my way.”

The interrogator pulled Vicki away, pushing her towards the door. It seemed she’d had enough of the witness and any further questioning would escalate things. “I don’t like this, Morrison. We need her if we’re ever going to pin down Strong.” Reyes cautioned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Things weren’t going well at all and with Strong in custody already, it was only a matter of time until he would be able to make bail. Then, there was no keeping him from hunting down his ex-wife and the money that had gone missing with her. “I need her to testify against him.”

“Should have thought about that before handcuffing her to a corpse.” Morrison stated bluntly. The Chief of Police headed for the door to catch the interrogator, Reyes hot on his heels. The two stepped out into the bustling precinct office. As Vicki stormed out, she threw a comtemptful glance and, thankfully, nothing more than that at Reyes. He moved to go after her, but Morrison stopped him.“Not a chance Reyes. We’ll give her some time to cool down before trying again. This isn’t good, but now that we know where the wife is, we can see about offering her immunity if she’ll hand over the credits she stole and testify against him.”

“That’s only if we can find the woman. The boyfriend said she was living up in Oregon, but gave no description of what she looks like. Astoria Elementary is where she has the kid attending school. If all else, we could probably get someone up there and try to find the kid so we can find his mom.” the woman Reyes had yet to be introduced to added in as she joined the conversation. “We would still need Miss Campbell, however. She needs to confirm it was Strong that killed her boyfriend through a line up and testify against him.”

“Something tells me that won’t be easy.” Reyes grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Now, would someone like to clarify who the hell this is?”

Jack stepped forward, motioning to the woman who had just interrogated their only witness. “Detective O’Deorain, this is Detective Gabriel Reyes. Gabriel, this is Moira O’Deorain.” Morrison introduced. Reyes offered a hand to the woman and she shook it firmly. “She just transferred over from Orange County. Reyes has been working on this for a longtime and I’ve decided you two are going to be working together on this case.”

“I work alone.” the two detectives said simultaneously.

Gabriel glanced at the woman with, thoroughly unimpressed with the situation, who looked on unaffected. Her seriousness challenged even that of the chief of police.

“Well, you’ll learn to work together or I’ll get someone else on this case.” Morrison threatened, pointing at the two of them. If there was one thing the chief of police couldn’t stand, it was people unable to follow orders. Reyes should have remembered that, but it was too late to take back what he’d said. “I don’t have time to do that so you better believe I’ll have you two writing parking tickets for the next six months if you don’t. Both of you, go home and get some rest. We’ll start bright and early tomorrow.”

The police chief wandered off, leaving the two detectives before any further arguments could be made. Both knew that whether they wanted to or not, they were stuck on this case together. They’d either make it work or face the consequences their superior had threatened them with. Moira turned to him, crossing her arms and let out a short sigh. Her eyes scanned him from head to toe before speaking, noting her significantly different build to her new and unwanted partner.

“Well, big guy,” she started, the nickname being something Gabriel wasn’t too pleased with, but he held his tongue. “Where to start?”

“I’ll work on getting Vicki to testify if you can look into Strong’s wife. Try to dig up as much information as you can. We know that her kid is going to Astoria Elementary, not much else though.”

“I suppose I can work on that, but what makes you think you’ll be able to get Vicki to talk?” Moira questioned. “Are you qualified enough to handle such a task? Not to mention how she seemed to hold a deep hatred for you, detective. I don’t think handcuffing her to the bumper of your car will get her to talk anymore than she has already.”

“I’ll handle it.” Gabriel responded calmly, despite the woman’s jab at his previous mistake with the witness. If he weren’t being forced to work with her, he would’ve wasted no time in throwing an insult right back, but there were more pressing matters at hand and the disapproval of Morrison would likely get him thrown off the case. “I’ve had to crack harder witnesses than her.”

Moira gave a haughty laugh and crossed her arms over her chest, giving Reyes a challenging glance. “And just how are you going to do that?”

**…**

Teenagers ran past Gabriel as he pushed forward through the small hallway in his full uniform. Word had spread before he had even gotten up to the apartment that there was a police officer on the premises. He just hoped Vicki had yet to leave. The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke, among other things, filled the air of the small apartment. What Vicki was doing hosting a part of teenagers at this backwoods, run-down apartment, he didn’t know. What he did know was that it was something that could get her in trouble if it continued and could be one more thing that he could use as leverage. 

As he entered the living room, his eyes found Vicki leaning on some guy who was smoking a joint. She looked up and her eyes widened before she groaned in annoyance. Reyes motioned for the man to scram, flashing the twin shot guns he had hanging from his hips. The guy didn’t have to think twice before he collected his pot and ran past Gabriel. “Hello there, Vicki.” he said, making his way over to the couch. “I didn’t take you for the partying type. And with high schoolers?” Vicki rolled her eyes at his chiding, not finding it amusing in the least bit.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked venomously, looking away from him.. Gabriel sat down next to her and she scooted as far away from him as she could. “Don’t you have somewhere better to be?”

“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” he answered. “Nowhere I need to be tonight. So I thought it might be nice to spend all this free time with you. Although, I’m a bit surprised to find you in a place like this.” The apartment was nothing nice and what little furniture it had was clearly from a second hand store, maybe even found abandoned in an alley. He wished that he could have found Miss Campbell in a better situation than this, but maybe it would be for the best. It was obvious she was upset that he’d even found her at all. “Do you mind?”

“Leave.” Vicki snapped. “You can’t stay here.”

Gabriel turned in towards her and gave a grim smile. “Oh, but _I can_. I have all the time in the world until I get someone to help me put Strong behind bars.” He glanced around the room again. It wasn’t ideal, but he’d seen worse.

The young woman buried her face in her hands and let out another groan of frustration. “I’ve already told you no.” she said, her voice cracking. Looking up at him, he could see the tears welling up in her eyes. “Can’t you just leave me be?”

Despite his hard exterior, Gabriel felt sympathetic for the young woman. It wasn’t everyday that he found people in her situation. He’d done enough digging into her own police record to know that she’d been struggling for quite some time. “Miss Campbell, we at the police department can help you. It’s pretty obvious that you’re not in the best place right now. I won’t run charges on you for supplying minors with alcohol among other things, but only if you agree to the lineup and to testify.” 

Vicki glanced away, rubbing at her eyes with her palms to keep the tears from falling. The young lady had some pretty nasty charges to her name and was barely getting by with a job as a bartender and watching her sister’s kids on occasion. “Why? Why do you want to help me?”

“I’ve been in your situation before.” Gabriel admitted. It was the truth-- he’d spent a good few years of his young adult life making poor decisions. “I was something of a rebel when I was younger. I caused trouble and got into some pretty unsavory stuff, but I found a way out of it. I was handed a second chance when I didn’t deserve it and I haven’t regretted cleaning up my act since. It isn’t too late for you.”

“I--” Vicki bit her quivering lip, glancing away nervously. Gabriel leaned in, waiting for her to say what was on her mind. “No. I’m not going to let you talk me into this. I don’t want to end up like Frank.” Frank was her boyfriend, the man Strong had murdered and the one Reyes had handcuffed her to.

“You’ll end up like Frank if Strong gets away.” Gabriel argued. “If he finds out you were there at all during our interrogation with him, before he makes bail, then it is likely he’d hunt you down. He’d hunt you down like he’s trying to hunt down his ex wife. If you want the protection of the L.A.P.D., then you need to cooperate with us.”

This seemed to stir some sense in the woman. She stilled and dropped her head between her shoulders. Gabriel moved away, giving her some space to think. He wouldn’t push her too far, as she was already annoyed enough as it was with him. 

Vicki sighed and sat up, looking over at Gabriel from the corners of her eyes. “I’ll do it.” she said, her voice cracking nervously. He could tell she was trying so hard to put on a brave face, despite all that had happened to her and her late boyfriend. “I’ll do the stupid lineup and I’ll testify.”

Gabriel paced back over, pulling out a card with his name and number on it and handing it to the young woman. “Take this in case you need anything. We will be in contact with you, Miss Campbell.” he informed. “Until then, I suggest cleaning up your act and remain as quiet as possible about our investigation. It will help keep you safe and ensure you don’t get any unwanted attention from the media. Understood?”

Vicki nodded in response. 

“Good evening, Miss Campbell. Be seeing you soon.” Gabriel said and left the woman’s apartment.


	2. Like A Toothpick

The lineup had gone as planned, with Vicki able to pick out Strong from a selection of 8 other men. She cooperated wonderfully and even was willing to testify. Reyes could not have been happier. Especially after the hearing that put Strong in custody until his trial date a few months down the road. 

After the hearing, Reyes followed the bailiff out of the courtroom, hot on the heels of Strong. He had every right to question him now and he would be hard pressed to let anything stop him. Pushing past some of the people walking by, he caught the bailiffs attention with a tap to his shoulder. “I need to speak to my good friend here.” Reyes said, nodding at Strong. “I’m sure he won’t mind.”

The bailiff didn’t argue, especially when Reyes practically dragged the handcuffed arms dealer from his hands. Shoving him towards one of the interrogation rooms of the connected jailhouse, Reyes was quick to push him in and let the door slam shut behind him. He let go of Strong and let the man stumble into the plastic chair in front of him. 

It gave him great pleasure seeing the man in such a mess, having not had the luxuries he was able to afford outside of prison, knowing he was at his mercy now. Strong’s long brown hair was tied back in a messy knot, greasy and unkempt from the harsh shampoo the prisons provided the inmates. His eyes had dark circles and bags under them, probably from many a restless night in his cot. The L.A. county jumpsuit was a nice dark blue color and it didn’t even do anything to help the man’s appearance. 

Walking slowly towards the man, Reyes stared him down without blinking. “Tell me the names of your suppliers and your key distributors and I will tell the judge what a nice, cooperative killer you have been.”

Strong let out a short laugh, rolling his eyes at Gabriel. “You think the jury’s going to convict me on the testimony of that partying junkie?” he questioned, his midwestern accent thick even after all these years spent on the West Coast. Steely grey eyes peered up at Reyes, ones that could not hide all the darkest and most foul things the detective knew he had committed in his life. “I think not, detective.”

Taking a different angle, Reyes moved around to the opposite side of the table, leaning over it towards Strong. “What about your wife?” That seemed to strike a chord with the criminal, earning the detective the curling of a lip along with a glare that was most murderous indeed. “Do you remember her? What about the three million credits she stole from you?” Strong moved to stand and Reyes held up a hand, motioning for him to stay where he was or else. “I bet she would make a much better witness.”

“Reyes, you’ve wasted years chasing after me and what has it gotten you, hmm?” Strong pushed back, doing his best to irk the detective in the only way he knew how. “I’ll tell you what-- nothing. I’ll be out in a week, while you’re still eating take-out in your office, instead of sitting at home in that dump you call an apartment.” Strong stood up now, not afraid of what Reyes would do to him in light of the information he seemed to know about the detective, which was not far off from the truth. “I know all about you, Reyes. Without me, you wouldn’t even have a job to do. My lady left because of the money.”

Reyes’ temper was rising now. He clenched his fists at his sides, knowing very well he couldn’t lose it over the heated words between him and Strong. It would very well put him in hot water with Morrison and even could get him taken off the case. 

Strong held his stare with Reyes, giving him a smug look. “Your lady left because she couldn’t stand the sight of you.”

In an instant, Gabriel was out the door of the interrogation room. The bailiff, who had waited patiently outside the door, voiced concern for his sudden departure, to which Reyes grunted a quiet ‘Take him away’, before storming off. 

**...**

The next day, Reyes’ sour mood had not lessened. Those who knew anything about the man’s body language, knew quite well to avoid the man when he was in a less than agreeable mood. Most of the morning, Gabriel was dealing with paperwork that needed no further input from anyone around the precinct, otherwise he would have put it off entirely. Anyone that needed something ran past him, chose to wait to do so until his moodiness cleared up.

With the exception of his new partner on the case with Strong.

Moira showed up around noon, a cup of coffee and her home packed lunch in tow. She stood at Reyes’ desk wordlessly, waiting for him to acknowledge her. When he didn’t, she plopped down in the seat in front of his desk and cleared her throat before speaking. “It’s lunchtime, you know?” she said, setting her coffee cup on the table alongside her lunch bag. “Figured a meathead like you would be off eating donuts or something instead of pushing paperwork.”

Reyes glanced from his computer screen to the woman who had interrupted his so far peaceful day and was proceeding to unpack her lunch on his desk. He gave a deep sigh and decided to acknowledge the nuisance of a woman. “What do you want, O’Deorain?” he asked, rather than choosing to make a just as snide remark as she had. “I have work to do.”

“It can wait.” she shrugged, pulling out a second sandwich from her bag. She offered it to him, waiting for him to take with her arm stretched out and hovering over the top of his desk. “Figured since we are working on this case, we should get to know one another a bit better. Not that I care, but it will please the chief I’m sure and might make you a little less troublesome to deal with.” She frowned at his following silence. “Take the damn sandwich, Reyes.”

Snatching the thing from her hands, he unwrapped it and took a bite. He almost forgot his anger for a moment at the deliciousness of the fairly simple homemade sandwich, but chewed just as ferociously while eyeing Moira who had dug into her own meal. 

“I guess we’ll start with the basics.” Moira said after swallowing the first bite of her food. “Where are you from?”

“Here in L.A.” he answered begrudgingly, peeling back more of the sandwich’s wrapper. “Lived here my whole life.”

“How long have you been a cop?” was the woman’s next question.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have to answer the questions too?” he shot back.

“My family is from Ireland, though I spent most of my years studying in England, before coming here to California to become an officer.” she answered plainly, without her obnoxious sarcasm or a bitter comment. 

Gabriel had taken another bite of his sandwich and chewed it slowly, savoring it. He didn’t want to admit it, but whatever it was, he wouldn’t find it easy to stay mad with such a tasty meal given to him. “I’ve been a cop for twelve years.” he continued, answering her second question. “My father was a cop, my brother was a cop, and my mother was a cop’s wife. I’ve known little else other than being a cop.”

A knock at his office door had both him and Moira looking up to see who it was. Chief Morrison entered, a pleased smile on his face. “Good to see you two getting along so swimmingly already.” he said, pacing over. “Especially with the news I have for you two. You two are booked on the first flight to Portland tomorrow.”

“Excellent.” Moira said, glancing back at Reyes.

“Yes.” he agreed. “This is good news.”

“Great. Now I want you to locate Strong’s wife and offer her immunity in exchange for her testimony against him.” Morrison directed. “O’Deorain, you’re going in undercover at Astoria Elementary as a substitute kindergarten teacher. Not quite a job for you, Reyes.”

“I was a teacher before I became a cop.” his partner chimed in.

“Well, what will I do then?” Reyes questioned, concerned he would not get to be part of the action.

“Moira will locate the kid while you work on finding the mother and the credits.” Morrison explained. He pulled the plane tickets from his inner jacket pocket and handed each to the prospective officer. “Then Strong will be making license plates for the rest of his life. Good luck you two.”

“Thanks, chief.” Gabriel said as the man left his office. Moira turned back to face him, with a sly smile that earned her a frown from him. “Back to being smug?”

“Are you at least a little jealous of me getting to go undercover?” Moira teased.

“With a classroom of five year old brats? I don’t think so.” he responded, grabbing his sandwich. He looked at it, then looked back up at his partner. “Thank you, by the way.”

Moira raised an eyebrow at him. “For putting up with you or for the sandwich?”

Gabriel chose not to answer, but he had meant the latter.

**…**

Furious was the word that could best describe Morrison’s sick joke of a cover story. Of all the things to give him and Moira, he’d gone with them being married. As they boarded their plane, Gabriel wanted nothing more than to turn, give the police chief a call, and give him a piece of his mind, but the opportunity to do so had come and gone. He was stuck now with Moira on the plane and would have to deal with it. Though, he would make Morrison’s life a living hell the moment they got back from Oregon.

Moira had settled into her seat and Gabriel joined her, his hulking body making hers disappear from anyone on the opposite side of the aisle. She leaned forward and handed him the file of the things she’d managed to find on Strong’s wife. “This is all we got.” she said as Reyes flipped it open. “It’s not much.”

Gabriel lifted a copy of a polaroid photo of Strong and his wife. While Warren was facing the camera, his wife was facing sideways. She wore a sunhat and sunglasses and it was such an old photo, it wasn’t of much use to them. It was taken eight years ago and it was likely the woman had disguised herself as well as simply growing older. Reyes moved to flip to the next bit of evidence, but dropped the photo to the floor when his seat was bumped from behind.

Turning his head, he found the culprit roughhousing with his seatmate. It was a child, no more than six or seven years old. He was not paying attention and did not notice Reyes glaring back at him, but Moira did. She smacked Reyes’ shoulder, drawing his attention back to her.

“I’m going to tell you now, it’s not worth it.” she said, handing Gabriel the photo he’d dropped. “They’ll settle down here once we take off. You’ll survive.”

“Sure.” Gabriel grumbled, returning to the file in his lap. The next photo was of Strong’s child, the one his wife had made off with as well as the three million credits, as well as a copy of the child’s birth certificate. They’d given him his dad’s first name. The photo of the infant Warren J. Strong was clearly not going to be what the kid looked like now. It seemed there would be no easy way to find either of them, so they’d be on their own for the most part. Closing the file back up, he handed it back to Moira.

“I apologize for not being able to find anything more useful.” she said, tucking it into her satchel. “Strong’s wife did not leave much behind for us or anyone to follow. Her parents are both dead and she had no other relatives other than the kid.”

Speaking of kid, the one behind Gabriel had picked up making obnoxious sounds while kicking his feet rhythmically against the seat in front of him. Gabriel took a deep breath and did his best to ignore the nuisance, nodding along to what his partner was saying but not really hearing it.

As if more distractions would just avoid the pair of detectives, the flight attendant came by, asking if anyone needed refreshments as soon as they’d taken off. Gabriel hardly heard the woman’s question, but Moira answered for both of them, declining the attendant.

“Hey. Earth to Gabriel.” Moira said, waving her hand in front of his face. He looked at her, clearly annoyed with the woman’s insistence to hold his attention while the children seated behind them were acting up without their parent’s supervision. “Listen big guy, I’m not happy about this arrangement either, but we need to make it convincing that we’re a married couple. How long have we been married?”

“Long enough.” Gabriel said through gritted teeth after a particularly hard kick to his seat. “People won’t expect us to talk to each other that much.”

“Hey! Gimme that!” from one of the boys behind Gabriel followed by his seat being hit once again.

“Oh boy.” Moira sighed, rolling her eyes as Gabriel turned in his seat to face the children behind him.

“Psst. Hey.” he shouted in a whisper until he caught the attention of all three of the obnoxious little brats. Pulling out a pencil from his pocket he held it up in front of the kids. “If the three of you don’t stop screwing around back there, this is what I’m going to do to you.” With just the slightest bit of pressure from his thumb, the pencil snapped in half. All three of the children’s eyes widened and they all fell silent, sitting back in their seats as if they’d never acted up once in their short lives. “Thank you.” Gabriel said, returning to a normal position in his seat.

He looked over to Moira, glad she’d quit trying to force their cover story on him when it probably wouldn’t matter much anyways. Only, he realized now why she was being so quiet. Despite the woman’s strong resolve in just about every situation they’d been in together so far, the woman was looking a little green. She groaned quietly and put a fisted hand up to her mouth.

“You don’t look so good.” Gabriel pointed out. “You alright?”

“I don’t think so.” she muttered. Her eyes suddenly grew wide and she stood up abruptly. “Move, Reyes. I’m not going to be able to hold it in much longer.” Gabriel scrambled to move out of her way, but being such a large man, there wasn’t much room for him to move. She cursed under her breath, hitting Gabriel in the shoulder forcefully. “ Move your bulldozer body or I’m going to lose my breakfast all over you.”

Gabriel stood up and moved into the aisle, nearly bumping into one of the flight attendants, but allowing Moira to run towards the bathrooms at the back of the plane. Something told him this was just the beginning of a very long trip and he plopped back down into his seat. Looking around, he realized just about every set of adult eyes was on him or pointed towards where Moira had run to. The flight attendant he’d almost ran into walked closer, giving him a sympathetic look. “Sir, is your wife alright?” she asked in a sickly sweet voice.

“I have no idea.” he answered, getting the flight attendant to move on up the aisle and leave him be. Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose, a stress headache beginning to sit in. This was going to be a long trip and it had only just started.


	3. False Reassurances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up: The reader in this story gets introduced briefly in this chapter, but I decided to give a minor description of what you look like. I left it fairly general, only describing what the reader's hair looks like because it is plot relevant that the reader is described as such. I apologize if this makes it difficult for anyone to relate to the reader at all.

Gabriel had been correct about it just being the start of his troubles. Moira was sick the entire flight, rarely staying in her seat longer than ten minutes before having to rush to the back of the plane. It didn’t end there either. Even after their flight, her illness persisted and when he suggested they go to the hospital, she turned him down. They needed to be to Astoria by nine a.m. the next morning, rested and ready to go. Moira was not concerned about surviving the three hours between the airport and their hotel rooms in Astoria. Taking her word for it, Gabriel argued no further...

…but he wished he would’ve gone with his gut.

The three hour drive turned into a almost five hour drive thanks to the constant stops made along the way for O’Deorain to keep herself from making a mess in the rental car. Countless times, Gabriel had to pull over to the side of the road so Moira could vomit. They stopped at about every rest stop and gas station along the way where she would run from the car and straight to the women’s bathrooms. Gabriel felt bad for the gas stations that had keys for their bathroom, because Moira didn’t hold back her panic and practically screeched for the key after slamming doors open.

Daylight faded quickly and so did Moira’s strength. She was most definitely running a fever, having forgone sitting up front to lay down in the backseat with both his and her coat atop her fragile and shivering frame. Gabriel had become less and less annoyed with the woman and more and more concerned for her health, as well as her ability to go undercover in the morning. If she remained this ill, the only choice they’d have would be to have him go in. Gabriel shuddered at the thought of that, but did his best to be positive that Moira would recover. 

Their last time stopping before reaching Astoria, it was pouring rain. Gabriel had to help his partner from the car and kindly held the umbrella over the both of them as she dry heaved over the railing alongside the road. When Moira finished, she could barely stand and Gabriel lifted her as best he could while holding the umbrella. He got her tucked back into the back seat of the rental car and quickly moved back to the driver's seat. 

He wasted no time continuing on down the road. The sooner they reached Astoria, the better. Moira would need to go see a doctor and it had become so painfully clear that she would not be able to start her undercover position at the elementary school. Her health was far too much of a concern and it was likely the schools wouldn’t want a deathly ill teacher showing up, even if it was their first day. 

Moira’s constant banter had faded with her strength and energy. Silence filled the vehicle other than the pattering of rain against it and the hum of the tires on asphalt. Gabriel worriedly checked to see if she was still breathing every ten minutes or so, afraid that she’d cease breathing and die in the backseat of the car. 

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you checking on me.” Moira wheezed, her voice hoarse from dry heaving and exhausted from her body emptying the entirety of her gastrointestinal tract. When Gabriel said nothing back, she gave a small and somewhat genuine laugh. “Some tough guy you are. I’ll be fine. Class starts at nine a.m.. We’ll get to the hotel and I’ll sleep the rest of this off.”

“You look much better already.” Gabriel said, well-intended sarcasm coating his words. He watched Moira roll her eyes in the rearview mirror before turning his gaze back to the road in front of him.

“Six year-olds. Kindergarten. Ugh.” Moira continued. “That’s why I quit teaching, you know. I got so sick of other people’s kids. Give me a dog instead.”

Gabriel’s thoughts turned closer to home with his partner’s words. He felt his chest tighten, as if what he was thinking was going to burst from between his ribs. The silence that followed Moira’s feverish mutterings and drawn out explanations was increasingly discomforting. Swallowing the tense lump that had risen to his throat, Gabriel shared one thing he hadn’t shared with anyone in quite a long time.

“I have a kid.” he admitted aloud. Moira had poured out just about her entire life story and Gabriel finally felt bad about not sharing anything about himself. “A son. He’s thirteen. I remember when he was five, but he’s lived with his mother and stepfather for eight years now.” He glanced back again at Moira in the rearview mirror. “I have a photo of him in my wallet in the inner pocket of my coat if you want to see him.”

Rustling of his coat was soon followed by a shocked gasp.

“What? What is it?” Gabriel asked, concerned that something had happened to Moira.

“Why the hell do you have a ferret in your coat pocket, Reyes?” Moira questioned, her breaths coming in short bursts between her words.

Gabriel chuckled. “He’s my ferret. Don’t worry. He doesn’t bite.”

“So much for seeing that picture.” Moira huffed, letting the ferret go back to it’s spot in Reyes’ coat. 

It wasn’t too much longer after that she’d fallen asleep, leaving Reyes to finish the drive in silence.

He’d been given no other choice than to carry his partner into their shared hotel suite after arriving at last in Astoria. It was well after midnight and few people were up and about in the hotel lobby or halls. He already had their room keys and had carried up all their belongings by himself. The last thing he had to carry was Moira herself, as she had refused to wake despite his desperate attempts to get her to walk up to the room herself.

Gabriel had laid her in her bed and shut the light off before retreating to his own room in the suite. Sleep claimed him in no time at all, but it was not enough to be well rested for the events of the next day.

Moira was still passed out on her bed in the room next to Gabriel’s when he’d woken. He’d done his best not to wake her as he set about preparing himself to go in place of her. It wasn’t until he was exiting their shared bathroom that she’d stirred and blinked away the sleep in her eyes as he came into focus.

“Good morning.” she said, her voice sounding worse than it had the night before. She eyed up her partner, eyebrows raising at how well he’d cleaned up. The Reyes from the night before was gone entirely, except perhaps for the tired circles under his eyes. The scraggly looking scruff his chin and upper lip had been sprouting was gone. His black hair was slicked with the minimal amount of hair product, letting some of it’s natural volume speak for itself. Moira was shocked and she nearly forgot that he was going undercover at an elementary school for the briefest of seconds, before commenting upon his look. “Take off the gun.”

“That’s a good idea.” Gabriel agreed. Shrugging off the jacket of his suit, the gun holster there was revealed with his Glock. Taking it off, he set it aside on Moira’s night stand. She rolled over onto her back and let out a hoarse bout of coughs.

“Those little bastards are going to eat you up.” she said, staring up at the ceiling. 

“Get some rest and don’t worry about me.” he reassured in light of her voiced concern. “I’ve been working undercover for a long time. They are six year-olds. How much trouble can they be?”

Moira turned her head, shooting a truly concerned look at Gabriel. “On second thought, Reyes, take the gun.”

“Very funny, O’Deorain.” he shot back, adjusting his jacket after having put it back on. Grabbing the keys to the rental from the tv stand, he took one last look at his partner and headed out the door.

The elementary school was just a ten minute drive from the hotel. As Gabriel parked along the street, he looked out the window at where he’d be spending the next week or so. It was quite an ancient building, but it still remained in a very nice condition. The grass was freshly mowed and bushes of cheerful colored flowers were planted in the flowerbeds bordering the school’s walls. The tan walls of the multistory building loomed above him, nothing like the cold gray walls of the precinct he was used to, as he walked up the sidewalk to the red wooden doors. He hesitated only a moment before grasping the metal handle and pulling it open.

Classes had already begun and the halls were mostly empty, except for the few students that passed by on their way to other classrooms. A few stray teachers also crossed his path, giving him a warm welcoming smile that hid their concern for such a strong looking man being in an elementary school of all places. He nervously stopped one of the teachers and asked to be directed to the office, as he would be meeting with the school’s principal before being introduced to the class.

“Just over there, sir.” the young woman had said, pointing towards a set of open doors where a counter could be seen with another woman sitting behind it. Before he could thank the lady, she was gone. Turning on his heel, he strode into the office and up to the receptionist.

“Hello. I’m supposed to be meeting with Principal Amari.” he said, eyes glancing to the noisy bunch of children that were seated in what he would consider to be very small chairs. When he made eye contact with a young boy who was picking his nose, he decided it was best not to let his eyes wander and faced the receptionist again. “I’m Gabriel Reyes, the new kindergarten teacher.”

“Ah.” the receptionist said, peering up at him from behind her thick rimmed glasses. She motioned to the empty chairs next to the students already seated in the office. “Wait over there while I go and see if Miss Amari is ready for you.”

“Thank you.” Gabriel said, watching the woman rise from her desk and retreat into the back of the office. Rather than standing there, looking lost, he walked over to the small chairs and sat in one. He must have looked rather comical sitting there, with his knees practically up to his chest. Stealing a glance to his right, he found the five students looking at him with their eyes wide like saucers. “Good morning.” he greeted and they all looked away, terrified.

The clicking of heels on the linoleum floor stole his attention to the open doors to the office. He thought perhaps it was the principal, but instead he was met with the sight of a stunning woman. Chocolate brown waves framed her face and her complexion was complimented by the sapphire blue hue of her dress. Gabriel was taken aback by her looks, but he knew this was not the time and not the place to say anything to her. She walked confidently into the room and passed him, stopping to kneel down in front of a young boy. Gabriel observed their interaction.

“Jeffery, I sent you to the principal’s office because you punched Jenny.” the woman explained to the boy. 

“But--”

“I know. She poisoned your hamsters.” the teacher continued. Gabriel was a bit concerned by a child poisoning another’s rodents. They were only children and, yet, seemed to hold the capability for just as much trouble as adults could be sometimes. “She told me all about it and she is very sorry. I’m also very sorry.”

As if the teacher had sensed eyes on her, she glanced over at Gabriel. Her gaze landed on him, her kind eyes finding the culprit. The corners of lips twitched upwards, but she did give him a full smile. Gabriel averted his gaze, knowing that he’d been caught and didn’t want to make the young woman uncomfortable. 

“I should have believed you.” she said to Jeffery. “But you shouldn’t punch people.”

“But she--” the boy started, only to be cut off again by his teacher.

“Mr. Reyes, Miss Amari will see you in her office now.” the receptionist called, having returned from checking with the principal. 

Gabriel stood at the same time the teacher who had come to talk to her student had. He passed her, nearly brushing her arm with his, their eyes meeting briefly before they continued past one another. Something about her intrigued Gabriel and he wished he’d been able to introduce himself. As he neared the hall leading back to the office of the principal, he stole one more look as the teacher disappeared into the hallway beyond the school’s office.

“How can I help you, sir?” a sharp toned voice came from in front of Gabriel, drawing his attention back to the hall ahead of him. A woman who was just as tall as him, but older than him stood with her hands clasped in front of her. Her hair was pulled back in a tight low bun, not a single black or greying strand escaping it’s confines. The woman’s short side swept bangs had streaks of grey as well, but they did not do much to take away from the woman’s emanating seriousness. Her eyes were narrowed up at him already and he’d not even gotten a chance to introduce himself.

“I’m Gabriel Reyes, your new kindergarten teacher.” he explained, stepping forward and reaching out a hand for the woman to shake. When she didn’t take it, Gabriel new something was amiss.

The principal stepped forward, her gaze piercing his own, with a look of angered concern on her face. “We were expecting a Miss O’Deorain.” she said. 

“There’s been a change of plan.” Gabriel replied. 

Her expression did not change, but she motioned for him to follow her into the office with her name on the door. ‘Ana Amari, Principal’s Office’ the letter read in red on the opaque glass window. She held the door open for him, allowing him to enter and closing the door behind him. Gabriel wandered forward, towards the woman’s neatly kept desk. He noted that not a single piece of paper was out of place and that all of her pencils and pens were organized in the plain black holder. A steaming cup of tea sat off to the right corner of the desk, still not fully steeped.

“Take a seat, Mr. Reyes.” the principal said, walking around to sit in her high back leather seat. Reaching for her tea, she picked it up and held it in her hands, leaning forwards slightly. “Four weeks into the new semester, my superintendent told me I had to replace Mrs. Hagley, a kindergarten teacher with 25 years of experience, with an undercover police officer and could not even tell me why. I don’t suppose you would do me the courtesy of filling me in.”

“I can’t do that.” Gabriel answered, knowing it wouldn’t be what the woman wanted to hear.

“Oh. You can’t do that.” she repeated to herself, grimacing before looking down into her tea. She lifted the bag of tea and set it on the cup’s matching saucer. Taking a quiet sip, she leaned back in her chair and continued. “I run a tight ship here at Astoria Elementary, Mr. Reyes. I’ll be watching you. All I’ll have to do is tell my parents that you’re with the police, and they’ll yank their kids out of this school so fast we’d have to close the place. And don’t think I won’t if I feel my children are in any danger.”

“Principal Amari, the children aren’t in any danger.” he reassured. “They won’t be with me around.”

“You better hope they aren’t.” she warned. “Now, I assume you have some teaching experience.”

“They wouldn’t have sent me otherwise.” Gabriel lied, years spent averting such dangerous questions from criminals had taught him well. This woman was looking for a chink in his armor, sizing him up and readying a weapon to take him down if need be. She wasn’t well at hiding it, but she likely didn’t know how observant he was already. His guard had been up since the moment he walked up the sidewalk, knowing that if he had to fool anyone, it would have to be her and the other teachers in the school.

“We’ll see.” Principal Amari hummed, rising from her seat. “I’ll show you to your class then.”

“Thank you.” Gabriel said, joining her on his feet. She beat him to the door, holding it open for him and giving him a very fake smile. 

“I’m sure your students will be very excited to meet you, Mr. Reyes.” she continued. Her words did not reassure him at all and he guessed she’d meant it to be just that. After all, he had not been able to reassure her either. 


End file.
